Arian Foster says he took money at Tennessee
Houston Texans running back Arian Foster says in a new documentary that he took money while at the University of Tennessee.
Foster made the comments in the documentary called Schooled: The Price of College Sports, according to SI.com.
"I don't know if this will throw us into an NCAA investigation -- my senior year, I was getting money on the side," said Foster. "I really didn't have any money. I had to either pay the rent or buy some food. I remember the feeling of like, 'Man, be careful.' But there's nothing wrong with it. And you're not going to convince me that there is something wrong with it.
"There were plenty of times where throughout the month I didn't have enough for food," Foster said in the documentary. "Our stadium had like 107,000 seats; 107,000 people buying a ticket to come watch us play. It's tough just like knowing that, being aware of that. We had just won and I had a good game, 100 yards or whatever You go outside and there's hundreds of kids waiting for you. You're signing autographs, taking pictures, whatever.
"Then I walk back, and reality sets in. I go to my dorm room, open my fridge, and there's nothing in my fridge. Hold up, man. What just happened? Why don't I have anything to show for what I just did? There was a point where we had no food, no money, so I called my coach and I said, 'Coach, we don't have no food. We don't have no money. We're hungry. Either you give us some food, or I'm gonna go do something stupid.' He came down and he brought like 50 tacos for like four or five of us. Which is an NCAA violation. [laughs] But then, the next day I walk up to the facility and I see my coach pull up in a brand new Lexus. Beautiful."
Foster raises plenty of valid points, most of which have been argued endlessly when it comes to the discussion of compensating athletes at big-time college football programs. Nonetheless, the NCAA and the University of Tennessee probably aren't smiling about Foster's revelation.
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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com
